Our Capital Adventure || Part 4

On Thursday the 6th, we again took the metro into the city for another full day of sightseeing. The city is jam packed with things to see! 

wish I could remember what he thought was so interesting in the paper that morning! 

We started the day in a cute little garden! Actually, we started our day in line for a tour at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, but unfortunately there were too many people ahead of us in line that we missed the tour. So, it was to the garden!

Next up, was the Air and Space Museum! Some of us enjoyed this more than others. :) 

Can you tell that we are sick of posing for pictures?! 

Jared was in his element at the museum! He's got so much of his grandpa in him :). Here he is by the Spirit of St. Louis (the plane Charles Lindbergh made history in). 

lots and lots of walking of course! 

Next on the agenda, was a walk through the National Botanical Gardens: indoor and outdoor! Again, some of us enjoyed this more than others :).  It actually just so happened that there was a bluegrass music program happening at the same time, so we listened in to that for a little bit, too! 

they were famous for having so many varieties of orchids. 

After the gardens, we walked to the Library of Congress to see the first Bible from the Gutenberg press. We were also told that the Library of Congress was the most beautiful building on the inside so we wanted to go check it out! 

they had a display of about 2,000 of the original books that Thomas Jefferson sold to the government when the first Capitol building burnt down. 

It was beautiful inside! Lots of mosaics!! 

This is the actual Library which is only available to Congressman and approved researchers... of something along those lines. Basically, we couldn't go in this part. :) But it was pretty from the glass!! 

With the handy metro again at our disposal, we made it back to our cottage Thursday evening for a nice supper and evening together! 

On Friday, our last day in the city, we did things a little bit differently. One last museum that we wanted to hit was the Holocaust Memorial but weren't quite sure how much Lily and Kenan would get out of it, especially keeping in mind that we had been sightseeing and going through museums all week. Mom, Kenan and Lily ended up staying back at our cottage for the day while the rest of us went back into the city for the Holocaust Memorial. It was a bummer that Mom couldn't come with us, but she had already been there and Lily and Kenan (and Mom too, although she might not admit it :)) really enjoyed a day with no agenda at the cottage! They played "metro" and built forts, hiked the trail, played mini golf and I'm not quite sure what else... but they weren't ready for us to come back when we did :). 

It was a pretty fun day... just the four of us :). 

Since Mom wasn't with us for our day in the city on Friday, Jared decided to carry the camera :). Here you have remains of the Jew's Torah, I believe. 

A picture wall depicting life in a Jewish community before the Holocaust. 

And a pile - a large pile - of shoes from the death camps. 

Lastly, a Memorial honoring all who died in the concentration camps. Jared was really proud of himself for capturing a person in the eternal flame!? 

We spent almost three hours in the Holocaust Memorial - it was a really good experience and I'm so glad we could fit it in before our week was over. It was a sobering experience. 

After our time in the Holocaust Museum we tried for the third time to get into the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. But alas, for the third time we missed the tour ... this time by three or four people! We spent some time walking the national mall, saying farewell to our favorite sights, enjoying hot dog from a street vendor, and browsing a farmers market. It wasn't all that bad of a Friday afternoon :).

our last look at the Capitol...

the last metro ride...

and the last escalator ride... just to clarify things, I do not ride an escalator like this. 

We arrived back fairly early Friday afternoon and enjoyed some hikes on the trail surrounding our cottage that evening, along with some mini golf, souvenir shopping, and get this! swimming!! 

hiking the trail...

our cottage for the week... have I mentioned that it was large? :)

and the outdoor swimming pool - in October! Lily and Kenan decided that since it was fairly warm outside, and the pool was supposedly heated, they would end their time at the campground with a swim! I stayed warm and dry, but I'm glad they enjoyed themselves :). 

We also had to spend some time packing up on Friday evening as our plan was to leave the cottage early Saturday morning. None of us were ready to pack up to tell the truth. The seven nights in the Martha Washington Cottage went way too fast! 

But never fear, there are still a couple posts coming to conclude the trip :). Stay tuned! -Faith